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The Recent Past

July 26th, 9 PM, Underneath, Atlanta, GA
July 12th, 8 PM, Kavarna (Atlanta Songwriters Series), Decatur, GA
May 16th, 9 PM, Java Monkey, Decatur, GA
May 10th, Erica’s Birthday Party, Five Spot, Atlanta, GA
May 3rd, 8 PM, 500 Songs For Kids, Smith’s Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA
May 2nd, 8 PM, IF Coffeehouse, Little Five Points, Atlanta, GA
March 27th, 7 PM - 10 PM, 1FIVE0, Atlanta, GA
December 15th, 7 PM - 10 PM, Krazy About Kats Holiday Party, Atlanta, GA
October 19th, Rockstravaganza, Athens, GA
October 10th, 6 PM - 8 PM, Atlanta Brewing Company, Atlanta, GA
September 27th, 7 PM, Decatur Library, Decatur, GA
September 21st, 8 PM, Northern Star Coffeehouse, Norcross, GA
August 31st, 9 PM, Java Monkey, Decatur, GA
June 20th and 21st, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM, Swallow at the Hollow, Roswell, GA (w/ special guest Mike Wenthe)
May 19th, 7 PM, House Concert, Montgomery, AL
April 14th, 8 PM, Inman Perk, Atlanta, GA
April 6th, 7 PM, Red Light Cafe, Atlanta, GA
March 31st, 8 PM, CRS, New York, NY
March 24th, 7 PM, Mighty Joe Espresso, Tucker, GA

you thought you saw a flicker
i saw the face
it was the ghost of rose marie
with her memories of grace

and how can she sleep when she’s so alone

twining ivies
sad sycamores
there must be a thief in heaven
from the way the thunder roars

black sparked lilies
and greenest lace
have never left a mark
made like the memories of grace

and how can she sleep when she’s so alone

stinging nettles
make crimson tears
she died before her time
at four and twenty years

time keeps marching
always on a steady pace
rose marie is gone but what live on
are her memories of grace

and how can she sleep when she’s so alone

I particularly recommend the third set where I’m joined by a full band featuring Mike Wenthe, Mark Wenthe, and Matt Heller.

Live at Underneath, Set 1
Live at Underneath, Set 2
Live at Underneath, Set 3

The tone is warm, the train is loud, and the crowd is tiny. I hope you like it.

Live at Northern Star, set 1
Live at Northern Star, set 2

Set 1
Stone
Here
Misunderstood
Pour The Rain
Seven Days
Never Should Have Sung That Song
Silly Little Angel
Only So Much
Why Would I Lie?
You Pull My Strings

Set 2
Times Have Changed
Desole
Black River
Vampire
Yellow Leaves
Poison Cup
Still Life
Strummed Guitar
Trouble
Katie

Thanks also to Mark Wenthe of Dusty Lightswitch for joining me on stage for the back nine.

And for those of you who’ve been asking about live recordings, here’s last night’s show. Enjoy.

UPDATE (1/2/07): Thanks to Mike Wenthe and Ryan Holifield for dropping in to record. The latest mixes feature their estimable contributions.

Thanks for listening,
Scott

P.S. Oh yeah. At this point in history, I’m obliged to make a quick legal note. I wrote all these songs, and no one else has any right to reproduce them or these recordings of them without my consent. No such consent is implied by making the songs freely downloadable from the site.

Then you pull my strings
And for a moment I could do anything
When you pull my strings
I look up and see the lines above me swing

I shuffled through the dance, my intentions were pristine
It’s no fair reminding me my heart is neoprene
If I could drink, I’d have a drink from your canteen
If I could eat, I’d have a taste of your cuisine

Cause you pull my strings
And for a moment I could do anything
When you pull my strings
I look up and see the lines above me swing

So while I dangle, while you kindly oversee
Please don’t forget I possess a longing to be free
And what a cost there is to cut me loose from thee
And what a jumbled, humbled mixed-up pile of me

Cause you pull my strings
And for a moment I could do anything
When you pull my strings
I look up and see the lines above me swing

Just in time for the fires and the fears to set
Just in time to figure out what we never get
Just a moment too late to see you forgive and not forget
Black river, pull me down

In the moment of the blinking of your frozen eye
I had a self-serving vision of a night that’s now gone by
And the lies and tears of a time so near you can’t believe it’s passed you by
Black river, pull me down

There’s a man overboard
Will you throw him a line
Even if you know he should be fine

Next door to the river in a house that’s never done
Looking out an open window, I can see the waters run
And the letter that I wrote, it’s floating like a boat and it’s just begun
Black river, pull me down

The 2 AM mist that so casually kissed
By the side of a trailer that moaned
We’re heaving a sigh
We’re breathing goodbye
Or did we lie lie lie?

Yellow leaves are falling again
Through November winds
They twist and they spin
Like all the places we’ll never be
The things you won’t see
Least not with me

You’re closer than skin
Don’t know where to begin
Don’t make me start at the ending this time
I don’t wander and stray
Want to live for today
But I can’t stay stay stay

These catalog dreams
Come apart at the seams
Hope’s as shiny and thin as a dime
But don’t pay the price
Of all my brilliant advice
When it’s so nice so nice

Yellow leaves are falling again
Through November winds
They twist and they spin
Like all the places we’ll never be
The things you won’t see
Least not with me

You’re closer than skin
Don’t know where to begin
Don’t make me start at the ending this time
I don’t wander and stray
At least not today
But I can’t stay stay stay

Your blood’s developed some resistance to her charm
But there’s no research to suggest what dose may do you harm
You knew her long before the pills could take effect
You’ve seen the places that the mirror now refuses to reflect
On Kelly X, Kelly X
Kelly X, Kelly X

She’s late again, you must pretend that you don’t care
She’s faithful only to a law she knows she doesn’t have to share
Just like that symbol that she painted on your bed
In some ancient language spells a warning that you really should have read
About Kelly X, Kelly X
Kelly X, Kelly X

Pleasure is a sweet disguise
You keep the beat and call it exercise
You won’t believe your own two eyes
That poison comes in such a tiny size

The words you wish you could have said still float like dandelion hair
You think you see her when you know that she can’t possibly be there
You can tell yourself you chose to play this game
Still you can’t bring yourself to call her by her real name
Just Kelly X, Kelly X
Kelly X, Kelly X

Pleasure is a sweet disguise
You keep the beat and call it exercise
You won’t believe your own two eyes
That poison comes in such a tiny size

Na na na na na na na
The gas is on me
Na na na na na na na
Nothing is free

And I’ll paint you a picture
Out of gravel and dust
And I’ll sing you a story
And I’ll lie if I must

I’ll say na na na na na na na
The road is my friend
Na na na na na na na
I’ll say the road never ends

And I can almost see it
Floating over your head
There’s a mike, there’s a camera
And those words that we said

Na na na na na na na
You said it doesn’t seem real
I said na na na na na na na
I think that’s the appeal

And the view through the windshield
It’s the heart of the scene
It’s like the world is projected
Up on a 50 foot screen

Na na na na na na na
You thought we were through
Na na na na na na na
Now what’ll you do

You could call it a still life
Where we’re a permanent blur
Cause we’re the only things moving
Just like we always were

Na na na na na na na
The song always ends
Na na na na na na na
It’s just a question of when

Maybe I should have known what to say
Or maybe I’m a red old rooster crowing the break of a bad bad day
So if you think it’s for the best
I could go away right now and let you get some rest

Never should have wasted your time
Never should have told you what’s wrong
Never should have broken that antique mirror
Never should have sung that song

You could tell me where to go now
You could shout it off the top of a creaky ferris wheel
You could spread your checkered blanket down
You could tell me how I should think and feel

Never should have wasted your time
Never should have told you what’s wrong
Never should have crossed that black cat path
Never should have sung that song

Never should have wasted your time
Never should have told you what’s wrong
Never should have spilled that salt at my feet
Never should have sung that song

So point me at the future, I’m anxious for it to begin
But I’m a vampire lately. You’ll have to invite me in.

Prefer to wait and lie
But I’d be waiting still
Prefer that you’d come on your own
But I know that you never will

So point me at the future, I’m anxious for it to begin
I’ve been a vampire lately. You’ll have to invite me in.

Can’t blame you for my own mistake
How I keep on dreaming when I know I’m awake
My fingers fidget so my hands won’t shake
All out of chances, least that I’m willing to take

Wish I could part the curtains wide
See those colors that I’ve never known
I know it looks so warm inside
But I know that you’re not alone

Just point me at the future, I’m truly anxious for it to begin
Am I a vampire? Maybe. You’ll have to invite me in.
I’ve been a vampire lately. You’ll have to invite me in.

I could draw you in six straight lines
Know the words you’re gonna say before they come into your mind
I could disappear in a cloud of smoke
Before you even knew to ask if it was all a joke
Is this your card?

Growing tired of wearing the same blank mask
Growing tired of knowing before you do what you’ll ask
Every trick has now become the same to me
Don’t even need the money I just do it for the company
Is this your card?

I spread the deck in a perfect fan
You think you chose the card you’re taking from my hand
I only wish that I didn’t understand
Never any magic left for the magic man

However long I live I’m never gonna match the Great Lorayne
Don’t deserve the word Amazing that comes before my name
I can’t hold my breath as long as Kid McGee
Never gonna be anyone anyone would ever want to be
Is this your card?

The world was younger then
It glittered for your friends
Guess you should know by now
Some dreams get lost somehow

Forward and back we rhymed
Like daylight savings time
Fell back once every year
Moved on once it was clear

It had come to this
The morning broke and hissed
The sun that should have shined
Just never rose this time

So if you think of me
Please do it carefully
The way you move your hips
Can’t feel my fingertips

White feathers flutter down
From heaven on this town
You were protected then
When will you be again?

I smile to work my teeth
I make you laugh in grief
You never wait for me
You never check to see

Were those two laughing eyes
Or plastic masked disguise
Once lost we’ll never find
These things we leave behind

I’ll be so very desole if I don’t get to see you today
I need to know that you’re OK before I can drive away

I was swinging from a cherry bough
I was practicing poses
I was skipping stones and playing house
And drinking from hoses
That goes some ways to explaining how
I never brought you red roses
We’re old enough for comprehending now
What was in front of our noses

I’ll be so very desole if I don’t get to see you today
I need to know that you’re OK before I can drive away

Stuck under a strip mall overhang
While the thunder was crashing
We made a run to the car straight through the rain
Laughing and splashing
Every song we heard seemed to explain
About the secret I was stashing
I watched the lines your hair left on the fogged up window pane
While my hazards were flashing

I’ll be so very desole if I don’t get to see you today
I need to know that you’re OK before I can drive away

Did I stumble through the kitchen door
Is that how you’ll describe it
Were you waiting there for something more
Did I fail to provide it
I left a blood stain there on your kitchen floor
My foot couldn’t hide it
My mouth was leaking, heart was speaking
Reckless and undivided.

I’ll be so very desole if I don’t get to see you today
I need to know that you’re OK before I can drive away

They say that blood is thicker
But oil is so much quicker,
At least if you want to bring the world to a boil.

Yes, I know what all the people say
You really shouldn’t buy her, don’t you even try her.
Yes, I know what all the people say
You really can’t believe her, she’s an inky black deceiver.
But they don’t know you like I do.
No, they don’t know you like I do.

Way back when you were standard
Mr. Rockefeller pandered.
But you never put your trust in just one man.

Now all your boyfriends are global,
Shell, BP, and Exxon Mobil.
And a sleazy new guy with a mustache named -Stan.

Yes, I know what all the people say.
If you chase her to Karbala, they’ll just make you worship Allah.
Yes, I know what all the people say.
Gotta watch who you rely on or we’ll end up like the Mayans.
But they don’t know you like I do.
No they don’t know you like I do.

There are things we’re all ashamed of
Things I don’t even know the name of
And alliances I’ll never understand.

So cheat on and deceive me
But please don’t ever leave me
Cause I never made a backup plan.

Yes, I know what all the people say.
She’s shifty and bipolar, have you ever looked at solar?
Yes, I know what all the people say.
Our reserves are nearly finished, our supply of dinosaurs unreplenished.
But they don’t know you like I do.
No, they don’t know you like I do.

So much heartbreak for you to look forward to
So many pretty little feet that’ll walk out the door on you
But not one way to say what I know will be in store for you
Sorry that you ended up like me

I watch your heart go bouncing off when you like what you see
So let me impart this lesson the way it was once taught to me
Just cause you want it doesn’t make it free
Sorry that you ended up like me

Got your grandfather’s hands and your mother’s eyes
And your crazy father’s need to overanalyze
Wish I could spare you the whole sad surprise
That it only gets worse when you’re my size

Maybe I can share some tricks with you
How to make sure that nothing sticks to you
I can only hope that some of it clicks for you
Sorry that you ended up like me

Composed a message
Tried to make you laugh.
It was stitched together
From ten or fifteen drafts,
Said it’s been seven days since you called
And I’m wondering if things have stalled.

Don’t stop, Janie, I won’t stop,
Maybe I will stop,
Or maybe I can’t stop waiting for you.
Don’t stop, Janie, I won’t stop,
I’m thinking I should stop,
But what if I can’t stop waiting for you.

It was a strange mist,
Rain floating like snow.
I walked and wandered,
Unsure where I should go.
And it’s been seven days since you said
The moment’s not dying it’s dead.

All your attention,
I admit, it didn’t hurt a bit.
Saw you reflected
In the golden glow of it.
But it’s been seven days since you said
You can’t get me out of your head.

Don’t stop, Janie, I won’t stop,
Maybe I will stop,
Or maybe I can’t stop waiting for you.
Don’t stop, Janie, I won’t stop,
I’m thinking I should stop,
But what if I can’t stop waiting for you.

Now I won’t say much
I won’t invoke the Great Emotion.
Never really need that much—
Just your occasional devotion.
But it’s been seven days since I’ve heard
Even the slightest encouraging word.

Strawberry sweetness
Grows in the jar that’s on the shelf
I keep these stories
And I repeat them to myself
And it’s been seven days long so far
And I’m wondering just where you are

Don’t stop, Janie, I won’t stop,
Maybe I will stop,
Or maybe I can’t stop waiting for you.
Don’t stop, Janie, I won’t stop,
I’m thinking I should stop,
But what if I can’t stop waiting for you.